Airship



1 May 19, 1931. w c, D 1,806,135

AI'RSHIP I Opiginal Filed July 8, 1929 Patented May 19, 1931 rare UNETE AIRSHIP Application filed July 8, 1929, Serial No. 376,734. Renewed January 23, 193 1.

The invention relates to airships of that type in which the weight is partially sustained by a gas inflated envelope but which in addition is provided with other means for lifting and for sustaining the load during flight. It is the primary object of the invention to obtain a construction which in case of head on collision against a mountain side, skyscraper building, or the injury or destruc tion or" a part of the machine through any other cause, will still be capable of either sustaining itseli in the air or so reducing the velocity of fall as to insure greater safety to the occupants. I

In the construction of airships of the lighter than air type, it is usual to have a single elongated envelope for containing the gas. With my improved construction instead of using a single envelope I provide a plurality of such envelopes arranged in tandem and so connected to each other as to obtain a substantially rigid structure. Thus in case one of the envelopes is injured or destroyed the others, supplemented by the power driven n means of suspension, will enable the occupants to either make a safe landing or by means of slow falling save themselves from serious or fatal injuries.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in longitudinal section showing my improved construction of machine;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the tubular connection between adj acent envelopes of the machine;

Figure 3 is a side elevation and Figure 4 an end elevation of the transparent nose piece of the machine through which observation can be made.

As shown in Figure 1 A, B and C are three elongated envelopes arranged in tandem and connected to each other axially by a tubular housing D. This tubular housing forms an extension of a skeletonized tube E which extends axially through each envelope so as to form a continuous passage from one end of the ship to the other. The forward envelope A has its tubular portion E projecting forward of the same and. provided at its end with a transparentcnose piece F. This is formed of a suitable pyramidal skeleton me-- tallic frame F with triangular glass plates F between the bars of the frame and suitably secured. thereto. Thus. inside of this nose piece the observer can look not only forward 5 but laterally in all directions and to some ex tent rearwardly.

The tubular portions D intermediate the envelopes are formed of a telescopic construc tion so that incase of any impact against the forward envelope or nose piece F they are capable of telescoping into the tubular casing E thereby forming a cushion or buffer for protccting the passenger compartments. As shown, the tubular casing E within the en velope is or" somewhat greater diameter than i the tubular housing D and between the two are arranged a series of spiral springs G upon guide rods G and abutting against shoulders H and H respectively on the tubes D and E. Thus in case of collision where the nose piece of the forward envelope receives a severe impact this will be transmitted through the tube E and will cause the telescopic action of the housing D, forcing it rearward into the tube E of an adjacent envelope. If desired, the portion D may be provided with windows and will thus form observation cars for the passengers onthe ship.

To give the proper degree of rigidity to 30 the ship, a series of cables I are arranged to surround the envelopes and to extend longitudinally thereoi but are attached at their forward and rear ends to the tubular housing D. In addition to these cables I there 85, are cables J for the individual envelopes which extend in the same manner around said envelopes and are anchored to the tubular housing D. These cables are also factors of safety in case of fall by preventingimme- 9Q.

diate contact of the passenger compartment with projections on the ground, thereby forming a cushion for said compartments.

The additional means for sustaining the ship in the air during flight includes a series of wings K projecting laterally from each envelope and propellers or tractors L arranged at various points along the envelopes. Helicopters M may be also arranged at suitable points such for instance as beneath the tubular housing D which are between adjacent envelopes. All of these propellers, tractors and helicopters may be driven by motors (not shown) which may be arranged in any convenient location. I also provide a suitable landing gear which is diagrammatically illustrated by the circles N beneath each en-v velope.

With the construction as described in operation the lifting of the machine is effected by the helicoptersin co-operation with the gas inflated envelopes and also during longitudinal flight by the wings K. This permits of diminishing the size of the envelopes a very considerable extent from what it would be necessary if the gas alone were depended upon for buoyancy. The principal advantage of the construction is, however, the safety which is aflorded by having separate units of the gas inflated envelopes, so that an injury to one will not destroy the others.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An airship comprising a series of gas inflated elongated envelopes arranged in tandem and telescopically collapsible connections between said envelopes.-

2. An airship comprising a series of elongated gas inflated envelopes arranged in tandem, a tubular casing extending axially through each of the envelopes and a telescopically collapsible tubular casing between adjacent envelopes.

3. An airship comprising a series of elongated gas inflated envelope arranged in tandem, a tubular housing extending axially through the entire series and provided with telescopically collapsible portions intermediate the envelopes and cables surrounding and extending longitudinally of said envelopes cfor imparting strength andrigidity to the structure. 7

4:. An airship comprising a series of elongated gas inflated envelopes arranged in tandem, a tubular casing extending axially of theentire series of envelopes and beyond the 7 dem, a tubular housing extending axially of the entire series of envelopes, Wings projecting laterally from said envelopes and power driven means for propelling the ship whereby WILLIS. o. WARD. 

